A New Jersey high school banned yellow ribbons meant to symbolize support for the Israeli hostages during a club fair — a “blatant’’ display of antisemitism, furious critics say.
Some Fair Lawn High School parents and the group StopAntisemitism also complained that the presence of Israel’s flag during the event, which was partly promoting a trip to Israel, was not allowed because the administration deemed it too “political” — while members of the Muslim Student Association were allowed to display a keffiyeh.
“What happened at Fair Lawn High School is an alarming case of hypocrisy and blatant antisemitism,” said Liora Rez, founder of StopAntisemitism. “This incident is nothing short of a direct violation of Jewish students’ rights to express their identity and humanitarian concerns.”
About a third to 40% of the 35,000 residents in Fair Lawn in Bergen County, just 17 miles from New York City, are Jewish.
A Fair Lawn parent said the public school district’s failure to address complaints about alleged antisemitism has been a simmering issue for some time.
“The incident at Fair Lawn High School’s Club Fair is not an isolated event but part of a disturbing pattern of antisemitism that I and other parents have been battling for years,” said Adi Vaxman, founder and president of Operation Israel, a group that provides humanitarian relief to Israel, to The Post on Sunday.
“Despite numerous meetings with the board of education and the superintendent, promises of inclusion in anti-antisemitism efforts have gone unfulfilled,” Vaxman said.
Her daughter, Maya, is a student at the high school.
“The administrator’s claim that the yellow hostage ribbon — a humanitarian symbol calling for the release of innocent civilians abducted from their homes and held in subhuman conditions by Hamas — is ‘political’ is deeply offensive and unacceptable,” the irate mom said.
Vaxman claimed that by comparison, the black-and-white keffiyeh, “a symbol of the armed resistance against Israelis, was allowed to remain displayed for hours.
“This glaring double standard exposes the bias of the school and the administrator in question,” she said. “It’s alarming that the school supports the Muslim Student Association identifying as Palestinian while censoring the Israeli flag for the Jewish Student Union.
“Israel is the world’s only Jewish state, naturally associated with Judaism and relevant to the JSU’s advertised trip to Israel.”
Fair Lawn High Principal Paul Gorski released a statement defending the school’s actions.
“We take pride in our Student Activities program as well as the leadership shown by both students and faculty,” Gorski wrote.
“During this year’s event, both the Muslim Student Association and the Jewish Student Union were asked to adjust items that were not part of their original displays. Both groups received the same instruction and were treated equally,” he said, adding, “no students were disciplined in connection with their participation at the Club Fair.”
He also said Fair Lawn High School participates in the Anti-Defamation League’s “No Place for Hate” initiative and was “proudly recognized” with a “Gold Star” distinction from it during a ceremony in May.
“We condemn antisemitism and remain steadfast in our commitment to creating an inclusive community where hate is not tolerated,” the principal’s statement said. “When we return to school after being closed for the Jewish holidays, we will engage in dialogue with our students and community. Hate has no home at Fair Lawn High School.”
But Vaxman isn’t buying the school’s response.
“This selective application of rules further demonstrates the discriminatory treatment of Jewish students. The school’s response is extremely disappointing and fails to address these core issues,” Vaxman said.
“Their participation in the ‘No Place for Hate’ initiative rings hollow when Jewish students face such blatant discrimination and intimidation in their school on a regular basis. We demand concrete actions, not empty platitudes, to combat antisemitism and ensure true equality for `all’ students.”
